E-NEWS FROM THE NATIONAL VACCINE INFORMATION CENTER
Vienna, Virginia http://www.909shot.com
"Protecting the health and informed consent rights of children since 1982."
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Contact: 703-938-0342
For immediate release
April 24, 2001

LEADING VACCINE SAFETY GROUP QUESTIONS INTERPRETATION
OF IOM REPORT ON AUTISM AND MMR VACCINE

The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), a non-profit organization
representing families with vaccine injured children have endorsed some of
the conclusions of the report released yesterday by the newly created
Institute of Medicine (IOM) Immunization Review Committee on the
hypothesized link between MMR vaccine and autism. But the nation's largest
and oldest vaccine safety and informed consent advocacy group is questioning
whether misinterpretation and misuse of the Committee's conclusions will
compromise public health agency commitment to funding vaccine safety
research.

The Institute of Medicine Committee concluded that "the evidence favors
rejection of the causal relationship at the population level between MMR
vaccine and autistic spectrum disorders" but also stated that "the proposed
biological models linking MMR vaccination to autism spectrum disorders,
although far from established, are nevertheless not disproved." The
Committee also called for further scientific research on the occurrence of
autism in children following MMR vaccination.

"The Committee clearly acknowledged the biologic plausibility that MMR
vaccine could be a co-factor in causing autism in some children. But the
message this report may send out, in practical terms, is that there is
absolutely no association between vaccination and autism and that the case
is closed. It can be used by those in industry, government and medical
organizations with a vested interest in protecting the status quo." said
NVIC co-founder and president Barbara Loe Fisher. "This would be tragic
because it could fatally compromise the making of vaccine safety research a
priority in our society and delay the search for identification of
biological markers that could predict which children are more vulnerable to
vaccine-induced neuroimmune dysfunction that can, in some, take the form of
autism."

NVIC has long advocated that scientific research into vaccine-associated
autism, learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,
asthma, and other chronic neuroimmune disorders explore the cumulative
effects of multiple vaccines in genetically susceptible children. In the
past 30 years, as vaccine recommendations have increased routine childhood
vaccinations to 37 doses of 11 different vaccines, there has been a dramatic
rise in the numbers of chronically ill children in the US, including a
doubling of those with learning disabilities, asthma, ADHD and diabetes.
Autism is now affecting 1 in 150 children.

"The conclusion of the IOM Committee that current scientific evidence
favors rejection of a causal association between autism and MMR vaccine
should not be taken out of context. There has been limited scientific
research to date to investigate the relationship between vaccination and
autism and until a more rigorous examination is conducted, the case is open,
not closed," said Fisher.

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